Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will start off because Deputy Collins has a slower car than mine but he is coming now. I am glad to get the opportunity to say a few words on this topic. As we all know, there has been a lot in the media and on the television over recent weeks on the subject. My youngsters at home pointed out to me that black lives matter. We believe that all lives matter. Even the small unborn babies that we fought so hard for in this Chamber also matter. All people all around the world, whatever nationality and whatever breed or colour they are, they all matter. We all agree with that.

I am glad to say that here in Ireland, by and large, we are not racist. We welcome people from all over the world and treat them the same as ourselves. Even in Killarney we have a Bangladeshi community. Many of them have been there for 20, 21 or 22 years. They are Irish citizens now. They work in the community, around the town and around the county. They are proud to be part of our community and I am glad to say that I appreciate them, their work and the contribution they make to life in Killarney and around Kerry.

On the refugees that we bring in to direct provision, I have been saying for years that the system is wrong. When a whole family is in a room, and I have seen that - six beds shoved together in a room - that is not a healthy atmosphere for parents or children. They are standing on each other's toes. Maybe it is not exactly as bad as it was four or five years ago, but it is still very bad and very wrong.

I am saying to the Minister, Deputy Flanagan, that we should only allow the number of refugees in here that we can care for properly. We see what is happening in Cahersiveen. I do not know if the Minister will be here the next day. I will be here and I wish him the very best in any case, but I am appealing to him. The hotel in Cahersiveen is not adequate. The hallways and rooms are too small and narrow. There is no open-air space there. It is not fair on children that they cannot hop around and do as children would do in the open air on a fine day. We have had a lot of fine days and they were cooped up or else they had to go down to the town. There were problems with that when people presented with the coronavirus in the town centre. I ask the Minister, for once and for all, to close it down.

We have many schools around our county. In Ballycasheen, Killarney we have maybe 40 foreign students from different countries in that school alone. In a small school like Tahilla, at one time they had children of 13 different nationalities in that school. That was only a couple of years ago. I do not know how many are there now.

What is very important, and I have to say it here today, is that I appreciate every type of religion and none. Whatever religion people have, I appreciate that, but I do not want anyone to make little of our religion, the Catholic religion. That has been happening, even by Members of this Chamber, in the previous Dáil anyway. I regret that, because I appreciate that other people have other views and other religions, and that is fine with me, but we must be allowed to carry on our tradition and the religion that we were brought up in, without fear or favour. I am asking the Members of the incoming Dáil to ensure that our religion gets the same treatment as every other religion and that our children of Catholic origin going into schools get the same treatment that other children are getting. It has turned full circle. We have to ensure that we look after our own.

Sorry, I have gone into Deputy Collins' time. Thank you very much, Ceann Comhairle.

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